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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · chest · perch · tear · race · ruler

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. perch — the fish
  3. land — to come down
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chest — of your body
  8. land — a country
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. chest — of your body
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. chest — a box
  13. tear — from crying
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. land — ground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com